An extraordinary victory for Pakistan in the end. Mickey Arthur is elated on the balcony, as he should be. Pumped by India in the opener, his side are through to the final four. And make no mistake, they were cooked here at 162-for-7. But then, the twist: a stand of 75 for the eighth wicket, which never came.

They were helped along the way by Sri Lanka, who dropped Sarfraz twice off Malinga; the chance grassed by Thisara one he’ll never forget. The skipper finished with an unbeaten 61. It was frantic, he should have been run out a couple more times, but he is the man of the match.

“I can’t believe it,” he said at the presentation, lumping ample praise on his big quick Mohhammad Amir who showed poise and class with 28 unbeaten runs of his own from 43 deliveries.

For their efforts here they now stay in Cardiff to play England in the first semi final of Champions Trophy 2017 on Wednesday. The other final four contest is between India and Bangladesh on Thursday at Edgbaston. The decider: The Oval on Sunday.

Of course, you won’t miss a moment on the OBO. Thanks for your company today. It’s been quite the afternoon. Long live 50-over cricket. Until next time.

The wily spinner finished with 6-124 to secure his second ten-wicket haul in Test cricket after claiming four wickets in the first innings as West Indies were bowled out for 322 before tea on a weary fifth and final day pitch at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Shah had deprived West Indian batsman Jermaine Blackwood his second Test hundred when he bowled him for 95 in the pre-lunch session.

West Indies, set a mammoth 456-run target for an unlikely victory, still fought hard and batted for 108 overs with Shai Hope also scoring a fighting 41. Hope and Devendra Bishoo fought for 45 runs during their eighth-wicket stand before left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (2-51) had Hope and Bishoo (26) caught to finish the match.

In between Babar’s wickets, Shah had Miguel Cummins bowled for nought to finish the match with figures of 10-210, having taken 4-86 in the first innings.

Pakistan won the first Test by 56 runs in Dubai, leaving the third and final Test in Sharjah starting from Sunday inconsequential.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq showed delight at the series win. “It’s a good win and I am very happy,” said Misbah, who equalled Imran Khan’s record of most matches as Pakistan captain with 48. But this is Misbah’s 23rd victory while Imran had only 14.

“The pitch was not helping the spinners so it was tough to get West Indies out even on a fifth day pitch but we have match-winners like Shah who bowled very well.” Meanwhile, West Indian captain Jason Holder was pleased with his team’s fight despite the defeat.

“We’ve showed signs of improvement,” said Holder who has now lost eight of his 11 Tests as captain.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to start the game the way we like. They scored too many runs on the first day, we didn’t bat well in the first innings. Pleased with the guys like Blackwood, the way they showed application.”

Blackwood defied Pakistan’s spin-cum-pace attack in the first session by adding 63 for the fifth wicket with Roston Chase (20) and another 57 with Hope for the sixth to counter the weary pitch.

When it seemed Blackwood would complete his second Test hundred, Shah produced a beautiful delivery which kept straight and hit the batsman’s pad, dislodging the stumps. Blackwood hit 11 boundaries during his enterprising 127-ball stay. Shah then trapped Jason Holder leg before for 16 to complete his five-wicket haul, the second in the series. Resuming at 171-4 West Indian pair Blackwood and Chase batted without any problems for the first nine overs, but in the tenth of the day Shah produced a sharp turning ball which took the edge off Chase’s bat to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed for an easy catch

Pakistan have been on a roll since their 2-2 series draw in England in August, which briefly lifted them to number one position in world cricket`s Test rankings for the first time.

Arch-rivals India relegated Pakistan to number two with recent victory over New Zealand but Misbah-ul-Haq`s men have a prime opportunity to close the gap in the three-match series against the West Indies and are strong favourites.

Pakistan captain Misbah said he was relishing the prospect of a day-night Test, where play will be from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm (1130 GMT to 1830 GMT) with two breaks of 30 minutes, in what is nominally a “home” series for Pakistan.

“It`s exciting because I think the future belongs to day-night Tests,” said Misbah, whose team will be missing senior batsman Younis Khan, recovering from dengue fever.

Pakistan have included in-form batsman Babar Azam, 21, for his first Test after he racked up 360 runs during the one-day series against the West Indies.

But misfiring openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood have been axed from the squad which levelled the four-match Test series against England.

The West Indies, routed by Pakistan 3-0 in both Twenty20 and one-day series preceding the Tests, come in as clear underdogs.

Coach Phil Simmons, who guided them to the World Twenty20 title in April this year, was sacked prior to this tour after the team lost 2-0 to India in a four-match series in August.

But captain Jason Holder said the West Indies — down in eighth in the Test rankings — are ready to bounce back.

“We have some new faces in Tests so we will do our best,” said Holder.

Experts, however, see Pakistan`s spin duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar proving too much for the spin-wary West Indian batsmen, especially in the unfamiliar day-night format with the pink ball and under lights. Australia staged the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last November — the first in Test cricket`s 140-year history.

The innovation has been brought in to address the dwindling crowds in Test cricket — floodlit matches encourage those at work during the day to attend — and has met with initial success.

The Adelaide Test attracted 123,000 spectators and an average television audience of two million.

But players from both sides complained about the pink ball’s movement and durability, as well as the difficulty batsmen faced seeing it under lights.

Pakistan have accumulated more experience than the West Indies under lights, adopting the coloured ball concept six years ago for the final of their domestic premier first-class tournament.

Pakistan have more than one reason to do well in Dubai — as well as grabbing a slice of Test history the match is their 400th Test since playing their first in India in 1952.

A win will not only cap a historic occasion but will also give Pakistan momentum for their pink-ball Tests in Australia in December.

The remaining two Tests against the West Indies will be in Abu Dhabi (October 21-25) and Sharjah (October 30-November 3).

Teams (from): Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan

West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican

Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS) TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG), Match referee: Jeff Corwe (NZL).

Sri Lanka and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the One Day format when the two teams meet each other in a day game starting today at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium

Pakistan having already clinched the Test series 2/1 has been elevated to number three in the Test ranking , will now look forward to winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka which will make them eligible to take part in the 2017 Champions Trophy to be held in England.

Pakistan at the moment is placed ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, and they will have to beat Sri Lanka to go one step up and occupy the number eight spot to play in the Champions Trophy.

While the visitors will go all out to achieve their objective ,Sri Lanka will try to make amends by winning the series as they did on the last occasion when the two teams met last August. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan at the same venue.

The Lankans with the return of veteran T.M.Dilshan, explosive opener Kusal Janith Perera and with the experience of Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirmanne, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera should hold the batting together.

The return of Lasith Malinga along with Seekuge Prasanna and Sachitra Senanayake should provide variety in the bowling.

The Pakistanis too are in a team building process. They will be led by Azhar Ali the prolific run scorer. And there are wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammed Hafeez Ahmed Shehzad, and Ashad Shafiq. With the absence of Riyaz Wahab who was injured during the first Test in Galle, the six foot seven inch Mohammed Irfan Rahat Ali and Yasir Shah should form a good combination.

The teams:

Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (Captain) T.M.Dilshan, Kusal Janith Perera, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Milinda Siriwardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Pradeep, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Sachitra Senanayake, Seekuge Prasanna, Sachith Pathirana.

Pakistan (from): Azhar Ali (Captain), Sarfraz Ahmed (V.Captain), Mohammed Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Azar Shafiq, Imad Wasim, Shoib Malik, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Barba Azam, Bilal Asif, Eshan Adil, Mohammed Irfan.